Syria, the Office Potluck of International Relations

“When you’re invited to the holiday or general office potluck, there’s a natural reluctance to jump right in and grab a plate. The United States engagement with the Syrian Civil War is no different. The reluctance to intervene should be maintained for as long as possible.” 

There’s a wide range of opinions on the current Syrian Civil War. I can bet dollars to doughnuts, no one who isn’t in Syria or Syrian has a true clue on what they’re talking about. That goes from the President of the United States to the AmandaRyan Facebook page of your high school classmate and husband who post their very narrow suburbs of Atlanta point of view of the conflict. The Syrian conflict is much more layered than seeing awful video clips of children being rushed to hospitals, and the knee jerk reaction post of the AmandaRyan account, stating, “Why don’t we do something?!”

Speaking of AmandaRyan, one of them thought it would be a good idea, instead of getting catered food, for the office to have a potluck. Potlucks are a hairline above spaghetti night at vacation bible school. And no, I’m not a foodie or food snob, I just don’t like bad food and neither does my stomach. And potlucks produce nothing but questionable looking and even more questionable tasting food. Why? Cause people can’t cook, just that simple. Some people have no business dabbling in the world of cuisine for they don’t know what they’re doing. They prepare and cook based on what they think should go into a recipe, or worse based on how they think it should taste. The result is crockpots full of boiling goo that’s supposed to be jambalaya. No, thank you.

Back to Syria.

Syria is in a sense a potluck. For starters most don’t even know where Syria is, they don’t understand the variables involved in the Syrian war, and they don’t understand why. Yes, in a simplistic way the Syrian war is between the government of Bashar Al-Assad vs rebellious forces vs a group who calls itself the Islamic State. The group was said, by then candidate Trump, to have been co-founded by Hillary Clinton and President Obama. The denouncement Trump gave is equal to someone saying, by me not liking the Backstreet Boys, it led to the creation of One Direction, crazy! Anyway, there’s three legitimate groups fighting. None of them are factions in which the United States should side with. None have pure intentions in their actions – meaning neither of the factions are fighting to establish a wholesome, non-oppressive, democratic society. No, all sides are fighting to control Syria the way they see fit, and we simply don’t know enough to understand or decide which fit is best. Which is bad.

Potlucks are generally bad for their cuisines made to the liking of a specific individuals. Unlike restaurants or people who cooked something so good all types of people request it from them, the United States should never get involved in a foreign affair in which the clear purpose and clear reasons is not understood by both the United States and the people we’re supposed to help. Simply go down the list of every bad American intervention and I don’t have to explain myself.

For a potluck, the best plan of action to avoid eating and being labeled antisocial is to simply go into the break room to show you’re aware and your presence will be noted. However, at no point are you getting a plate. The United States has already made its presence known regarding the Syrian conflict, and there’s no need to do more. Syria may look like jambalaya and we know how to get down on some jambalaya, but in actuality it’s a cold and unseasoned minestrone soup. 

Guns Are Here To Stay

Guns are here to stay in America as they are woven into the daily fabric of society. If you just look at sports in America, guns and shooting are a major part of the language and daily expressions of Americans: “he’s got a rifle of an arm,” “the outfielder threw a bullet to home,” “took off like a shot.”

The laws that we currently have are not being used to protect the public. As a product of NRA influence legislators are not using their vote to protect their constituents from mass murders or the NRA. Does this mean we cannot apply common sense regulation to guns? No, we certainly can and should be able to enforce common sense regulations then enforce all available laws to protect the public.

Now that the United States has a generation of young voters who have come of age in a time of war and constant violence, things will change. Living in fear at school, which should be a safe haven, will color their future decisions in life. America’s young people will affect change to the gun laws by voting and being more politically active than previous generations, solving the gun issue. They will not allow their children to live through what they survived as young people.

All guns will not be confiscated in the United States, the exception being the military-type assault weapons. Hunters will still hunt. People will be able to protect their homes and loved ones. But neither of these activities requires a semi-automatic killing machine.

The Deadly Decisions of Donald Trump

NPR published a story this week highlighting the recent increase of the number of coal miners diagnosed with progressive massive fibrosis, otherwise known as black lung disease, in central Appalachia, the heart of coal mining in the US. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) says that they have identified the largest cluster of advanced black lung disease ever reported. More than 400 new cases between 2013 and 2017 were reported by just three clinics in the area.

The disease was nearly wiped out in the mid-90s, with those clinics reporting five to seven cases per year. The number of cases has multiplied alarmingly to five to seven cases every two weeks or so. The spike is attributed to several causes, including longer shifts and the mining of thinner coal seams, grinding up the surrounding rock into silica dust, which is deadlier than the coal dust itself. The increase of layoffs and retirements also contributed, and brought in more miners into the clinics to take advantage of federal black lung compensation programs.

The Trump Administration is looking into rolling back some of the protections implemented just two years ago, which increased protections for miners by forcing operators to limit mine workers’ exposure to the dust by adding filters to the work areas, among other things. While the administration may not touch the regulations themselves, they are impacting the ability to enforce those regulations.

As in other departments, Trump’s strategy appears to be hiring the fox to guard the henhouse. The former mine safety chief of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, Joe Main, was the driving force behind these tougher regulations. Trump’s pick to replace him is David Zatezalo, former chairman of Rhino Resources, which has been cited numerous times for mine safety violations.

Workers in the coal industry might see this appointment as bringing in one of their own. The coal industry is declining, and miners need to feed their families. However, no critically-thinking human can deny that the coal industry is killing people, destroying families, abusing the environment, and enriching the oligarchs. When one takes into consideration all of the factors, Trump’s rhetoric about caring for the coal miners rings hollow.

Similar read: Betrayal of the Coal Miner

Eagles Decline the White House

This past week Philadelphia sport fans have been celebrating the city’s first Super Bowl Championship, FINALLY! Along with post-win celebration comes, usually, the invitation to the White House. Some Eagles players have already publicly stated that they have no intention of going, and that’s their right.

The notion that teams or team members who respectfully decline the White House are anything but respectfully allowed to do so, is misguided frustration about ideas of tradition, patriotism, racism, and a variety of other ‘isms. Citizens can be critical of the country or unsupportive of the president and still love, respect, and support the country, as well as respect the office of the president. These ideas are not mutually exclusive.

They have every right as a team to decline the invitation. Their decline was respectful, and they’re are allowed to say no. Respect for anyone, even the president, does not mean acquiescing to every request and whim.

Response: Tell us what you think! Should sports teams be able to decline White House invitations?